Packing and end thrust unit for conveyers



June 23, 1953 R. B. MAAS PACKING AND END THRUST UNIT FOR CONVEYERS Flled May 31 1949 INVENTOR. Raise 5. Maas,

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A TTORNEK Patented June 23, 1953 PACKING AND END THRUST UNIT FOR CONVEYERS Russell B. Maas, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Screw Conveyor Corporation, Hammond, Ind., a corporation of Illinois Application May 31, 1949, Serial No. 96,340

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to conveyor apparatus, and aims to provide an effective endthrust assembly including a packing and dustseal feature of improvement in connection with the end-thrust bearings for the conveyor shaft.

To this end I have devised a packing and end-thrust bearing unit for the end of the conveyor and including a packing seal preferably located at the exterior of the conveyor housing, for the purpose of providing a combination endthrust bearing and effective dust seal at this critical point of the conveyor operation.

With the foregoing general purpose in view, the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating one form of construction which I have found to be practical for the efficient embodiment of the proposed improvements, after which those features and combinations deemed to be novel and patentable will be particularly set forth and claimed.

In the drawing- Figure l is an elevation, partly in section, illustrating one end of a conveyor apparatus having the improved packing and end-thrust bearing unit in assembled relation thereto; and

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same and representing a section taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

In conveyor operation, of the screw conveyor type, it is common practice to employ suitable end-thrust bearing units at the ends of the conveyor shaft, and while conventional types of packing means are regularly included in the construction at the ends of the conveyor for the purpose of providing seals against the escape of dust and any fine material through the ends of the conveyor housing, the provision so far made has left something to be desired as regards the efficiency of the scaling function. The present invention therefore aims to provide improved efficiency with relation to this dust sealing function, and to accomplish the desired result by combining the dust sealing feature with the endthrust bearing assembly at the exterior of the end wall of the conveyor housing, as will now be more particularly described.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing in detail, the improved construction is illustrated in connection with one of the end portions of a conveyor apparatus, Figure 2 showing a fragment of one of the end walls 4 of the conveyor housing, through which extends the corresponding end portion 6 of the conveyor shaft.

At the exterior of the conveyor housing the conveyor end shaft 6 is provided with a conven- 2 tional type of double end thrust bearing structure-indicated generally by the reference numeral 8-which structure is secured or anchored in place by means of a set of bolts 9 and nuts ill for attachment to the exterior face of said end wall 4 of the conveyor housing and also to shaft 6 by suitable screws 1. As a further anchoring means of a positive type to secure the end thrust bearing structure in substantially fixed relation to the shaft (that is, fixed as regards any relative longitudinal movement of the shaft) the said bearing structure is provided with a pair of key rings I2 which are seated in annular shaft grooves I 4 in position for abutting engagement with the opposite ends of said bearing structure, as clearly represented in Figure 2.

The packing means for providing a dust seal at the exterior of the conveyor housing is shown as comprising a conventional type of packing ring member [6 which is suitably housed within an annular groove l8 formed in one face of a clamping ring 20 adapted to be fitted over the shaft 6 between the aforesaid end thrust bearing unit and the outer face of the end wall 4 of the conveyor housing, or in such position that said packing ring member it will be held clamped against said outer face of the wall 4 around the opening 2| which is provided therein for the screw conveyor shaft. As indicated in Figure 2, the clamping ring 20 is also provided with suitable openings for passage of the bolts 9, whereby said ring 20 and its packing ring it are securely clamped and held in place between the end thrust bearing structure and the outer face of the end wall 4 of the conveyor housing, as shown in the drawing.

There is thus provided by means of the described construction an efficient combination of end-thrust and dust seal means, which is preferably located at the exterior of the end wall of the conveyor housing, as the point for most effectively sealing the conveyor against the escape of the dust clouds generated by the conveyor operation at the end of the conveyor shaft. Moreover, the assembly described has the further advantage of providing a combined structure which eliminates the necessity for any integral or other type of hub or bearing formation such as usually forms a part of the end wall of the conveyor housing for accommodating the conveyor shaft, and said combined structure is also adapted for the clamping and securing of the dust seal or packing unit in its proper and most effective operating relation, that is at the exterior of the end wall of the conveyor and around the opening for the screw conveyor shaft where it extends through said end wall of the conveyor housing. The provision of the key rings I2 also affords further independent means for the securing of the conveyor shaft in proper substantially fixed relation to the end thrust bearing structure, as required for exercising an efficient end-thrust function.

It will therefore be apparent that a practical and efficient combination of an end thrust assembly and dust seal or packing means has been provided for fulfilling the desired objects and purposes of my invention, in the particulars herein set forth; and while I have illustrated and described what I now regard as the preferred and most practical form of construction for the embodiment of the aforesaid improvements, I nevertheless desire to be understood as expressly reserving the right to make such changes or modifications therein as may be deemed to fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A packing seal and bearing structure for the end walls of screw conveyor apparatus comprising, in combination with a plain end wall of the conveyor housing, a conveyor shaft extending through said end wall, an end-thrust bearing unit for said shaft at the exterior face of said end wall of the conveyor housing and in fixed relation to the shaft as regards relative longitudinal movement of the latter, a clamping ring provided with an annular dust seal or packing ring encircling said shaft between said bearing unit and the exterior face of said end wall, and attaching means for securing said bearing unit to said wall and thereby maintaining said clamping ring with said seal or packing ring in tight clamping engagement with the exterior face of said end wall of the conveyor housing.

RUSSELL B. MAAS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,120,400 Nelson Dec. 8. 1914 1,469,731 Page Oct. 2, 1923 1,919,248 Murphy July 25, 1933 2,088,703 Hubbard et a1. Aug. 3, 1937 2,335,561 Dodge Nov. 30, 1943 2,355,390 Murphy Aug. 8, 1944 

